Ice-cream and cone vending machine



Man-:Ih 16 1926.

. D. J. AJOUELO ET AL ICE CREAM AND CoNE vENDNC MACHINE Original Filed Feb. ll, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet l March 16 192s.

D. J. AJOUELO ET AL ICE ACREAM AND GONE VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. ll. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .IL/527mb i711 wfm 39 zml/aww r Gbbwmd.

March 16 1926. 1,577,241

D.'J. AJUELO ET AL 10E CREAM AND come VENDING MACHINE Aoriginal FiLed Feb. 11, 1922 4 sheets-Sheet :s

March 16 1926. 1,577,241

D. J.. AJOUELQ ET AL ICE CREAM AND GONE VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Feb. l1, 1922 n 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIL'. fwfam mekwmfm;

Patented Mar. 176, 1926.

' UNITE-o Sr'rEs g'Arsur oFFicE.,

l:DAVIS JACOB AJOUELO AND IRA LEONARD CRAWFORD, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

ICECREAM` AND GONE VENDING MACHINE. i

Application led February 11, 1922,l Serial No. 535,830. v Renewed August 11, 1925.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that we, DAvIs JACOB AJOU- nLo and IRA LEONARD CRAWFORD, citizens of the United States, both residing at Atlanta,

in the countyV of Fulton and State of Georgia,

" Ourinvention relates to improvements in' coin controlled dispensing apparatus for dispensing ice cream, frozen custard, or similar plastic or liquid material, where itis desired to dispenser predetermined quantitiesA of the material at Va predetermined price, and to supply same in measured quantities: into cones or 'other suitable receptacles;` and where it isdesired to keep-the parts clean and' sanitary Without subjecting the contain- Hing vessels orthe product sold to any handling,x or any unnecessary exposure to the airor to other sourcesof contamination.

Our invention will be more fully understood after reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts` are indicated byY similar reference symbols throughout the several views, and in which Figure l is a side elevation of the container'in which the complete apparatus is mounted. i

Figure 2 is a plan, view of the apparatus showing the casing cover removed.

Figure 3 shows a section along the line y 3-3 of Figure l, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 shows a: section along the line 4 4- of Figui; andlooking inthe direction of the arrows. n i

Figure 5 shows al vertical section taken alongthe lineV 5.,-5 of'Fig. 2, and looking the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a detail showing the delivery.

gate or door detached from the apparatus.

Figure 7 shows a vertical section along the line 7-7 of Figs. l and V5, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8- shows aV vertical section along the line 8-8`of Figs. l and 5, and looking in the direction of the arrows.v

Figure 9 isa sectional elevation showing -the cone container and the means for feed:

ing the same seriatim, and shows the dogs in the position for supporting the lowest cone; an

Figure 10 isa similar view shows the dogs in the position for releasing the lowest cone. n

A represents the casing or container in which thevario-us parts of the apparatus are mounted. 'This casing is provided with a movable top A and vwith a fixed bottom A2 andwith a hinged door A3, provided with a suitable lock a.. The front of the container insert the receptacle yfor the ice cream and toremove the' same, and also with another suitable opening A5 to withdraw the conto Fig. 9, but i* -is provided with a suitable opening A* to tainer, such as a cone, paper cup orthe like,

as will be hereinafter described. v

The casing is divided by a horizontal partition A6 into an upper Vand a lower cham-` ber. In the upper chamber we providey an ice tank B, preferably having double` walls between which a suitable packing C may be use d if desired, or this.4 packing maybe omitted and an air space left. i

Ylnside of the ice tank B the ice cream can D is mo-unted, which is provided with amovg able top D and with an opening Do in the bottom which supplies the ice creamor other frozen material to the receiving chamber D2, below which is mounted the delivery chamber D3 which will be hereinafter more fully described. Y

f The can D is preferably made of cylindrical shape, and mounted in said can is a piston E adapted to rest on top of the material in the can, and is provided with a pistou rod F having arack Vc onk one side thereof, which piston rod projects up through the cover D', and the back of this piston rod may bear against an anti-friction roller e", as shown in `Figure 7,.

Mounted in the lowerY chamber of the casing is the drain` tankF which is connected to the ice tank B by means of the drain pipe f, and this tank is also provided with a drain pipe 7 controlled by asuitable valve f2. This tank F may be steadied mounted in the lower chamber of the ing beneath the partition AG.

I represents a. tube in which the empty cones or cups are inounted. '.lhese cones or cups are preferably sanitary and are intended to be used only once. and are do livered from the bottoni of said` tube2 as will be hereinafter described.

The coin conveyor .l is provided with a passafeway for the coin. having an inlet slot y and an outlet opening; y" which de livers the coin to the transporting lever, as will be hereinafter described.

K represents the operating shaft which is intermittently operated by the systeni of levers M and The lever M carries a springr pawl l. enf-raging the rabfhot wheel la. carried by the shaft K, which will. permit the lever M to be swungr to the right, see Fig.` 8, without turning1 the shaft K, but will turn said shaft when the lever M swung to the left as in Figi: 1%. This lever M is normally restored to the initial position, shown in Fig. il, by means of the sprinjvr m, and the inovenwnt of said lever is arrested by a` stop 'm'.

N represents the second lever which is pivoted to the lirst as at n., and swings in a` slot m0 in the iirst lever hl, as shown in Figi. S. This second lever N carries at its outer end, for convenience of operatioin a ball or handle n', and is normally restored to the initial position by means of the. spring a?? see Figr. 3. This lever N projects through a slot A in the front of the casingzj. as shown in Figs. l and 8. lt will be noted that this lever il will be free to swine' to the left (sec Fig. relative to the lever M unless it is locked in position by means of the coin which falls from the coin chute into the slot m2 which extends vertically through the lever M, as shown in Figi'. 2l.

Then the coin is dropped into the coin passage it will fall down the saine and. will engage in the slot in?. and the lower edeje oit the coin will rest on top of the partition A, the coin Z then takinp; the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. This coin will lock the two levers together so that if the operating' lever N be swung to the left, when the coin is in place (see Fig'. 3), it will carry wit-h it the lever M, and when the coin reaches the opening (i0 in the partition A it will drop through said opening; and fall into the money box H below. This will unlock the lever M `from the lever N and there will be an elbow joint formed between the two at the pivot fn.

Then the lever N is released. the two springs m and In? will bring the two levers M and N back to the initial position shown in Fig. 8. The upper end of the shaft K is journaled in the block O which is conw nected to the various partsof the casing by means of suitable braces such as O', O2, O,

04, and O5; and below this bearing block O the shaft K carries a bevel pinion z which meshes with the bevel pinion p on the shaft l?.

The outer end of this shaftl carries a. pinion ji which nieshes with the rack c on the piston rod lil' so that turning the shaft .lJ in the proper direction will canse the pis ton E to press down on the upper surface of the contents oi' the can l). VBy this ar rangement the movement of the lever hl' lo the left, as shown in liigs. 9. and la?, will cause direct pressure to be applied to the piston lf3. tending; to force the plastic mass contained in the can l) downwards. A similar result might be obtained by the "weight of the piston itself and piston rod, or by applying a. weight thereto.

represents a sliding` knife which trav els in a` guidcway y, as shown in Fig. 5. This knife is reciproeated through the instrui'nentality of the lever M which rar a down wardly projectiinr sleeve ld', see li i 5i, which is loosely mounted on the shaft l.. This sleeve carries the rralik arm fm.

which is connected by the link g2 to the stein y which is attached to the knife (.2- lt will be seen that viliratiugi1 the lever lli?A will also reciprocate the knife Q.

Mounted below the said knife, and near the lower end of the, delivery chamber D, is the sliding; gate R, see Figs. 5, 6 and 7, which normally closes the bottom oi the delivery chamber D, this beinggr held in the closed position by means of the springs fr on the rods r', which springs normally press the handle R outwarcls, as shown in Figs. G and 7. l hen it is desired to open the bottoni of the delivery chamber D3, the handle is pressed inwards, causing the gate R to unmask the openingr through the bottom of the chamber D3.

ln order to keep the knife clean, and at the same time to prevent it from sticking `in the guideway g, we provide a. water chamber Dl, adjacent to the receiving chamber D, to which vater is supplied at normal teinperature from the tank S through the pipe S', cont-rolled by the valve s. This water after triekling through the guideway y escapes through the drain pipe S2 to the tank F.

In order to provide for the automatic feeding of the receptacles for the ice cream or other .material being vended, we provide the feed mechanism shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 8, and more especially in Figs. 9 and 10, in which T represents a rack bar which is connected by the link t to the lever M. This rack bar is provided with the rack teeth f adapted to intermittently engage the pinion U which drives the sprocket chain ll, which drives the pinion V on the shaft V. (ln this saine shaft is a e'ear V2 meshing;-

wiai the gear w on ai@ han w. nies@ Y swung to the left it'will pullv out the rack bar-,from the position shown in Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig. 10, shifting the dogs X andX correspondingly and permitting a single cone to be releasedfrom the bottom ofthe stack. This cone may be either withdrawn by hand or dropped by its own weight.y

Instead .of 'a cone it will be obviousfthat nest-ed stacks of cups may be used, such as the well known paraiiined individual cups. -lith the apparatus of the character described cones will ordinarily be preferable to cups. It will be understood that the receptacles referred to are stacked up `in the tube I, to whichithey may vbe supplied in any convenient way. v f

TheV operation of the device is'y as follows:--"`v` "j Supposethel can D to be charged with the plastic article to be dispensed and the washing tank S to be' supplied with water, and

the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. '1: to '9,a coin of the requisite dimension is inserted in the slot j and, lfalling down'the coin passage J, will pass into theslot 'm2 in the lever M, and the loweredge of the coinwill rest on top of the: partition A6, see Figs. 2 and ,3. The right face of the coin, as kshown in saidiigures, will lie in the 'path'` ofthe lever Nto the left, and thus the y u coinwill lock the two levers together.

N owvif thelever N be swung to the left,

it will rock with itA thele'ver M and this lever .M, through theratchet and'pawl arrangement, YVwill also rock the shaft 4 1 "Rocking the'shaft K will rotate the shaft'P 'and press down'theA piston E, thustending to feed the plastic mass to the receiving chamber D2. Rocking the lever M will also vcause thev sleeve M and the lcrank m3` to withdraw 'the knife Q, and permitfthe .mass toflow from the receiving chamberu D2 'to the deliverychamber D'w'here the amount to `Abe delivered willy be 'measured by' the cubical contents ofthe ydelivery chamber. in drawing the knife Q, to the right, as seen ,in Figs. 3 and:l 4;,it is drawn through vthe water which trickles into the guideway g fromthe water tank S, vsee Fig, l, and this @f water'will` serve to melt the small amount of ice cream, adhering'to the'said knife,'thus not only cleaning the knifebut also serving to facilitate the sliding vof the knife freely Ain' the ',guideway Q;

L Ast the same time that theice cream is being fed froin'the'can D tothe delivery chamber: D3', the swinging mow'fement of' the' v`tion ready for a new cycle.

'and 3, to pull onthe rack T whichA will rock the double dogs X and X from the position shownli'n Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig. 10, thereby releasing one of the `individual containers which may be withdrawn by hand, or may drop loose and be caught by hand and withdrawn from the.

opening A5, see Fig. 1. f Y

Now when the lever M approaches its furthest position to the left, under the action of theV lever N to which it is locked, the'coin Z' will be -'movedto register with the slot a0, see Figs. 2 andf, and will drop through the said' slotrao into the'coin boX H, thus breaking the lock between the levers N and M.V At thisy time the spring m will tendpto restore the lever M to the initial position, and the lever N willswingA freely Aabout its pivot 'n and the operator will understand that the operation of the macliinehas been completed# Upon the release of the lever N by the'operator it will swing back to'the initial Vposition shown in'Figs. 2 and 3 lunder the action ofthe spring n2. As .the lever returns to the initial posi- 'tion it will swing the crank m3-back to the position shownlin Figs. 3 andfi, thus swinging the knife Q to the closedposition and separating the mass contained in the delivery chamber from the vsuperposed mass of plastic 'mat-ter.v Y

The cycle of operationsrhas now progressed so far that the operator standing infront of the machine will have a receptacle delivered to him through the opening A5, and the delivery chamber D3 will be supplied with the material to be sold. Nofwthe operator inserts the receptacle into thevopening A4 beneath thedelivery chamber D3 and by Vpushing on the'handle R the gate R Vwill be moved and the measured contents of thedelivery chamber" D3 will fall into the receptacle aforesaid.`

lhen the handle R is released, the springs fr will restore same -to the initial position andthe cycle or operations will be completed and the parts will be in the posimay be operated successivelyfor an indefinite period, or so vlong as the can D is charged withy the plastic material to be sold.

While we have described la machine especially adaptedto the sale of Vice cream and similar materials, it is obvious that it may be used to' dispense various plastic or semi-plastic compositions,.vor `evenliquid` compositions such, -for instance, as sherbets, frozen custards, various'syrups, etc. It will be noted that the machine will always supply the Ysame amount of the article to be. sold to the delivery chamber which materialmay be withdrawn therefrom AinV thespecial individual packages referredk to.

'Itn will be obvious that various vmodifica- The machine 1 tions mightbe made in the herein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could he used without departing from the spirit of our invention; and we do not mean to limit the invention to such dctails except as particularly pointed ont in the claims Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. Apparatus 't'or vending plastic material comprising a container for the material jinovided with a delivery chamber located beneath the` same and connected thereto, means tor sinmltaneously delivering the material to said delivery chamber and tor releasing an individual receptacle tor said material. and a hand controlled gate normally closing the bottom of said delivery chamber.

2. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a container tor the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, means ttor simultaneously delivering the material to said delivery chamber' and for releasing an individual receptacle for said material, and a spring impressed hand con `trolled sliding gate normally closing the bottom oiY said delivery chamber.

3. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a container tor the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a sliding knite normally closing the passage between said container and said delivery chamber, means for removing adhering plastic material trom said knife, coin controlled means for simultaneously moving said knife thereby delivering the material to said delivery chamber and for releasing an individual receptacle tor said material, and a hand controlled gate normally closing the bottom of said delivery chamber.

4. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a container ttor the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a sliding knife normally closing the passage between said container and said delivery chamber, means 'for supplying a cleansing fluid to said knife to remove adhering plastic material thereiron'i, coin controlled means `tor simultaneously moving said knife thereby delivering the material to said delivery chamber and for releasing an individual receptacle for said material, and a spring impressed hand controlled sliding gate normally closing the bottom of said delivery chamber.

5. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a cylindrical container for the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a piston mounted in said container, a sliding knit'e mounted above said delivery chamber, and controling the passage between said container and said delivery chamber, means for supplying a cleansing liquid to said knife to remove adhering plastic material therefrom, a hand controlled gate normally closing the bottom of said delivery chamber, and coin controlled means for simultaneously pressing down on said piston, and withdrawing said knife.

6. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a cylindrical container for the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a piston mounted in said container, a sliding knife mounted above said delivery chamber.y and controlling the passage bctween said container and said delivery chamber, means for supplying water to said knife to remove adhering plastic material therefrom, a spring impressed hand controlled sliding gate normally closing the bottom ot said delivery chamber, and coin controlled means for simultamously pressing down on said piston, and withdrawing said knife.

7. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a holder adapted to contain a series of superposed receptacles, a cylindrical container for the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a piston mounted in said container, a sliding knife mounted above said delivery chamber, and controlling the passage between said container and said delivery chamber, a water chamber associated with said knife, means for supplying water to said chamber, and coin controlled means for simultaneously releasing the lower one of said receptacles from said holder, pressing down on said piston, and withdrawing said knife.

8. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a holder adapted to contain a series of superposed receptacles, a cylindrical container for the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a piston mounted in said container, a sliding knife mounted above said delivery chamber, a cleaning chamber through which said knife passes, means for supplying a cleaning fluid to said chamber, and controlling the passage between said container and said delivery chamber. a hand controlled gate normally closinc` the bottom of said delivery chamber, and com controlled means for simultaneously releasing the lower one of said receptacles from said holder, pressing down on said piston, and withdrawing said knife.

9. Apparatus for vending plastic material comprising a holder adapted to contain a| series of superposed receptacles, a cylindrical container for the material provided with a delivery chamber located beneath the same and connected thereto, a, piston mounted in said container, a sliding knife mounted above said delivery chamber, and controlling the vpassage between said container and said delivery chamber, a cleaning chamber into which said knife passes, means for supplying water to said chamber, a spring impressed hand controlled sliding gate normally closing the bottom of said delivery chamber, and coin controlled means for si- 10 multaneously releasing the lower one of said receptacles from said holder, pressing down on said piston, and withdrawing said knife.

DAVIS JACOB AJOUELO. IRA LEONARD, CRAWFORD. 

